Plains rat

Pseudomys australis

Blamed on cats

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

EPBC Threat Rating: Very high

IUCN Claim: “ Recent research has demonstrated marked detrimental impact of introduced predators: Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral Domestic Cats (Felis catus)’”

Studies in support

Cats hunt rats (Pavey et al. 2008; Pavey et al. 2014)./Read & Cunningham (2010) described an occasion where more plains rats were captured inside than outside a fenced reserve where carnivores were excluded. Rats were last confirmed at Koonchera Dune, SA, 56 years after cats arrived (Wallach et al. 202X).

Studies not in support

Rats were last confirmed in NSW 35 years before cats arrived (Table S2).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies evidencing a negative association between cats and plains rats which report data. In contradiction with the claim, NSW extirpation record pre-dates cat arrival record, and the two species co-ocurred at one locale for over half-a-century.

Evidence linking Pseudomys australis to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Pseudomys australis and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Pseudomys australis, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008. Small points show unconfirmed records (excluded from analyses).
Evidence linking Pseudomys australis to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Pseudomys australis and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Pseudomys australis, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008. Small points show unconfirmed records (excluded from analyses).

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

Chris R. Pavey, Stephen R. Eldridge, Mike Heywood, Population Dynamics and Prey Selection of Native and Introduced Predators During a Rodent Outbreak in Arid Australia, Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 89, Issue 3, 5 June 2008, Pages 674–683, https://doi.org/10.1644/07-MAMM-A-168R.1

Pavey CR, Cole JR, McDonald PJ, Nano CEM (2014) Population dynamics and spatial ecology of a declining desert rodent Pseudomys australis: the importance of refuges for persistence. J Mammal 95: 615–625

Read, John L., and Ross Cunningham. “Relative impacts of cattle grazing and feral animals on an Australian arid zone reptile and small mammal assemblage.” Austral Ecology 35.3 (2010): 314-324

Wallach et al. 2023 In Submission